During the Qin Dynasty, legalism was the most popular belief. One central principle is that one should hold their property tight and never give in to things that are stronger than themselves. Under this circumstance, the story of Jing Wei was created.
The Chinese legendary emperor Shen Nong had a daughter whose name was Jing Wei. Jing Wei was kind-hearted, and always defends people against injustices. Jing Wei walked up to the boy and said:'' You are someone who is shameless. What only knows to bully little kids. you should go fight with a tiger or a bear, and only then would people say you are a hero.”
One day, she saw a big boy riding on another kid’s back as if he was riding a horse, even when the latter was so tired that he crawled on the ground. Jing Wei walked up to the boy and said:'' You are someone who is shameless. What only knows to bully little kids. you should go fight with a tiger, or bear, and only then would people say you are a hero.”
The boy jumped down from the other kid’s back and yelled at her face: “ I am the son of the Sea dragon, who you think you are to control what I am doing!” Jing Wei says: “ Why do you think you are superior just because you are the son of a Sea dragon? I am the daughter of the Legendary emperor. Stop coming to the land in the future, otherwise, I am going to dry you out by hanging you on the tree.” The son of the sea dragon says: “ I am going to let you know how powerful I am, so that you can step out of my business from today.”
He started to fight with Jing Wei. Jing Wei was very skillful in fighting, because she started hunting with her father since she was really young. The son of the Sea dragon lost very soon and returned to the sea with embarrassment.
After a few days, the son of the Sea dragon saw Jing Wei on a boat in the middle of the sea. He swam to Jing Wei and said: “ The only reason that you won the last time was that we were on land. Today, we are in the ocean. You have to apologize, or I will control the sea to drown you.”
Jing Wei was unwilling to compromise, she said: “ I do not I did anything wrong. Why do I need to apologize?” The son of the sea dragon saw Jing Wei’s obstinacy and stirred the sea. Jing Wei soon drowned.
After her death, Jing Wei transformed into a bird that looks like a crow, but with red paws and white mouth. She wanted revenge, so Jing Wei started throwing pebbles and sticks into the sea to fill it without stopping. Although the pebbles and sticks were small, Jing Wei's perseverance moved other Gods, and they all used their power to help her to fill the sea.
Perseverance
During the Qing dynasty, people disdain those who change their mind under the fear of people more powerful than them. People admire Jing Wei for her “骨气”, which means perseverance. Even when the son of the Sea dragon threatened her with death, Jingwei still would not apologize for doing the right thing. People put characteristics they admire, but hard to achieve, in stories to remind the next generations of their moral standards.
In fact, the story of Jingwei is included in many school textbooks. Reading about Jingwei’s determination to fill the sea with pebbles, Chinese students today learn about the importance of perseverance at a young age.
Sea
Ancient People would use their imagination to explain things that they could not understand. They believe that there were monsters living at the sea floor because there were always storms. From the description of how the sea easily killed Jing Wei, we can tell that Ancient Chinese people would describe the sea as being heartless sometimes. People believe that the sea could kill everything that they want, and established the story with their fear for the sea and their belief that the sea is ruthless.
The bird
According to the chronicles, there was a kind of bird called Jingwei that looks like a crow. Unfortunately, Jingwei is extinct now. While Chinese people praise the virtues of Jingwei, seeing crows means bad luck for the most part.
Reference:
“精卫填海.” 精卫填海简介_精卫为什么会填海_精卫填海背景_趣历史, www.qulishi.com/huati/jingweitianhai/.
Picture: Pinterest
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